Tumbler clothes drier



Oct. 7, 1952 w. 1.. KAUFFMAN,1I 2,612,705

' YTUMBLER CLOTHES DRIER Filed Aug. 8, 1947 i 2 SHEETSSHEET l 4 Flqi E I K n 9 E b 4b 2 3110mm F/ 6' 4 97 wt attorney Oct. 7, 1952 w. L. KAUFFMAN,I[

TUMBLER CLOTHES DRIER 2 SI-lEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Aug. 8, 1947 Snnentor (Ittorneg Patented Oct. 7, 1952 "Lovell Manufacturing Company, Erie, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania inh man-Avast 8, 1947, Serial No.767,616 1 Claim. 7 (01. 34-85) This invention is intended to handle thelint drier; Fig. 2 is a back view with the back wall of the cabinet broken away;' Fig. 3 is a section through the fan intake and exhaust; Fig. 4 is a perspective of the base showing thefan and lint trap mounted thereon; Fig. 5 is a top sectional view throughthe front end jof the lint trap Fig. 6 is a transverse section through the center of the drier and Fig. '7 is a fragmentary section through the drum casing.

The invention is shown applied to a drier having a cabinet with a door 2 at the front for loading and unloading clothes, a pilot light 3 and a control knob 4. The cabinet is mounted on a channel section base 5 having at its back a post 6 carrying a bearing 'l'for a perforated drum 8 rotatable on a horizontal'axis to tumble the clothes. Suitable bafiies 9 are indicated to assist the tumbling action. Thedrum is driven by a motor I0 mounted on the lowerjback corner of the base and driving the drum through a double V-belt reduction |2.- A s shown in Fig. 7, the cabinet has front and back walls impeller 28 driven by the motor through a V"-belt 29. The fan is located at one side of the cabinet and the motor is located atthe oppositeside oi the cabinet so that the motor is protected from heating by the air flowing through the fan. This prevents overheating of the motor. The fan casing has a, discharge nozzle 30 telescoped into the back end of a lint trap 3|. Extending across the side walls of the lint trap are screens 32, 33, 34 which intercept the air stream discharged through the nozzle and trapped lint. Each of the screens has a section 34a inclined forwardly into the air stream and between the forward edge of the screen and the adjacent wall of the'lint trap is a by-pass passage 35 through which the air flows when the filter screen is clogged. The screens are staggered so as to compel a sinuous flow of air through the by-pass passages after the screens are clogged. This substantially prevents flow of unfiltered air through the by-pass passage until the filter screens are clogged. Such unfiltered air as flows through the by-pass passage associated with one of the screens is intercepted by a succeeding screen. The top wall of the lint trap is closed by a cover 36 held in place by a spring 3! when the lint trap is in the.

drier. Upon removing the lint trap the cover may be opened to permit ready removal of the lint trapped in the filter screen. At the front of the lint trap is a deflector 38 which directs the air through an outlet 39 giving the air a l3, M to which are fixed circular flanges |5, |6

receiving a wrap around sheet I! enclosing the peripheryof the drum and in eifect providing a casing. around the drum. In an upper corner of the drier is located an electric heating element It! having an associated reflector l9. directing the heat against the outer surface of the drum. The reflector is substantially a continuation of the wrap around sheet and with the wrap around sheet provides a complete enclosing casing for the drum except for an air intake slot 20 at the upper edge. of the reflector. v The parts so far described are or may be of common construction.

Diagonally opposite the heating element 18 is a fan intake duct 2| extending axially along the wrap around sheet and fastened I thereto by flanges 22 on the wrap around sheet projecting through openings 23 in the side wall of the duct 2|. The flanges 22 provide openings 24 leading from the wrap around sheet into the duct. At the front end of the duct is a clean out cover 25 accessible upon opening the door 2. The back end of the duct telescopes into the inlet 28 of a fan casing 21. Within the fan casing is an;

sidewise motion which'tends to prevent recirculation of the heated air through the drier. Opposite. the deflector 38 is an opening 40 providing access to an upright post 4| on the front end plate 42a of the lint trap. The lint trap may be conveniently removed by gripping the post 4| In the operation of the drier,-air is admitted into the space between the cabinet and the wrap around sheet through suitable inlet openings not shown. This room temperature air circulates around the motor and is partially preheated by contact with the outer surface of the wrap around sheet. slot 20 diagonally across the drum through openings 24 into the fan inlet duct 2| and is discharged through the nozzle 30 into the lint trap from the heating element I8. The temperature of the exhaust air bears a direct relationship to the dryness of the clothes having relatively sharp increase in temperature as the clothes approach The air flows through the complete dryness. The drier may be automatically controlled by a thermostat responsive to the exhaust air temperature. The details of such automatic control are not illustrated because these are well known. It has been found that the accumulation of lint on the thermostat tends to interfere with the control by causing a false temperature. response, .This riSi prevented in the presenhconstr'ii-ction; byrhaving. az-thermostat iaulb 42 project through a wall 43 into the discharge nozzle 30 in the direction of air flow through thenozzle. At this point the velocity of the airis sufiicient to prevent adherence of lint-to'the'ther mostat bulb and any lint momentarily adhering to the bulb is quickly removed-rby'.therairflowingj along the surface of the bulb. This locationaoi the thermostat permits a more reliable control of w the drier in response to the"exhaust"ah-'-temperature.

v It has been found v n ,tendency,ior .lint to. collect .in. the..space bettweenfthe. drumhn'cifthe wrap. around ,Sh'eet I21 ,Jnlthissiiaceiherefis sufficient turhu'lenceto prevent' collecting .of .Jthell'irlt. I The fan'eintalse duct gisl'r'arra" gen, 11:0 discourage .the J.collection of lint that there is substantially 4 In a drier, a horizontal drum for receiving and tumbling clothes and rotatable on its axis, a wrap around sheet surrounding the periphery of the drum, an axially extending duct on the outside 5 of the sheet extending from front to back, said duct and wrap around sheet having contiguous walls with registering openings therein, the open- ,ines inthe wrapsaround-gsheet being-flanged and I ithes'flangz siihereof projfictingzthrough the regis- 10 tering openings in the duct, a clean out cover for -.the front end of the duct, and a fan having an intake receiving the back end of the duct.

WALTER L. KAUFFMAN, II.

v 9;,RWENCES CITED ii flhecfol-lowingireferences are of record in the file of this-, patent:

, UNITED STATES PATENTS Number pans.fir...".umuuunemiuraa 

